PAC-MAN – THE GAME

We all know the basic play. The screen opens up, the all too familiar sounds of Pac-man music starts to play and before you know it, Pac-man is munching his way through the yellow dots like he’s been starved for the last week.

The Characters

Red Character

Meet Blinky – also known as the shadow | Japanese name: oikake meaning chaser

He will usually follow you and will always take the shortest route to you. This makes him the most eager character in the game.

Pink Character

Say Hi to Pinky – also known as speedy | Japanese name: Machibuse meaning ambusher

This character is full of surprises. Watch out for those close shaves, it will usually be thanks to Pinky.

Blue Character (note, the original character was cyan and not blue)

Enter Inky – also known as Bashful | Japanese name: Kimagure meaning fickle

Inky is one slippery character and you can never get a grasp on him as he is simply unpredictable.

Orange Character

Last but not least, we have Clyde – also known as pokey | Japanese name: Otoboke meaning stupid

As Clyde’s Japanese name suggests, this character is a little slow. He’s the least threatening of the four characters as he likes to wander about on his own mission.

The Levels

There are 255 levels. Billy Mitchell achieved the highest ever score of 3,333,360 after 6 hours of play. Level 256 is unbeatable.

The Bonus Items

Cherry – awards you 100 points

Strawberry – awards you 200 points

Orange – awards you 500 points

Apple – awards you 700 points

Melon – awards you 1000 points

Galaxian – awards you 2000 points

Bell – awards you 3000 points

Key – awards you 5000 points

When you take a look at the components that make up the Pac-man game, it’s actually extremely well thought out. The original idea may have come from a unique source of inspiration, but the characters, levels and bonuses all add to the epic adventure that is Pac-man as we (almost) all know it and have come to love it.